I was out Friday when my shifter pulled out of the boot, a la king arthur's sword in the stone. I limp it home and noticed that slightly pulled out, it felt smooth and GREAT. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed the base of the shift lever is off to the right when tightened down the way it was designed... But it causes me to fish for R. So I'm making an adjustable bracket setup using aluminum and steel stock. Pics as I get to those steps

http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd08d2-c9e9-1fa8.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd08d2-ca0b-89e9.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd08d2-ca36-d4f2.jpg
Why is stabilizing the shift lever left to a piece of plastic and some rubber? not great
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd08d2-ca7a-bd71.jpg

D3l7a3ch0

04-03-11, 03:58 PM

Shifter shortened 1"

http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d159-6d2b.jpg
Circumcised the nipple off the shift lever rubber sleeve, to fit back into the lever
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d1ae-a7ff.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d1d5-9e28.jpg
Trimmed down the length of the sleeve
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d201-1ffd.jpg
Tapered the bottom of the sleeve, because its proximity to the ball joint bothers me
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d237-0496.jpg
Eyeballed an inch off the end of the shifter and cut with a saws-all
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d26c-2501.jpg
Cleaned with a dremel, placed the cone tip of the sleeve into the shifter and replaced. Cut portion for reference. The shifter now slides down until the shift shaft hits the upper end of the shifter tube.
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0bd1-d9e8-7d03.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d2ea-4b89.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd0879-d306-3b78.jpg
Complete. Test driving, and re-evaluate the need for a fabricated bracket.

//test drive complete. Same exact shift feel, with a shorter lever. So. On to the bracket. I have a strong feeling that, stabilized slightly to the left and possibly lifted, the notchy R will go away. If I hold the shift plate to the left while going to R, it finds the gear effortlessly.

D3l7a3ch0

04-03-11, 06:16 PM

Out with the rubber crapola

http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f0a8-0a75.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f0c4-c1f0.jpg
Cold rolled steel plates cut and secured with vice clamps, adjusted against the shift plate
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f10b-c1f7.jpg
Holes drilled, resulting hole
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f12f-ddf0.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f157-9d39.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f177-464e.jpg
More holes and bolts...
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f535-94c5.jpg
http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-fa40-a08a.jpg
In the future I will put something between the plate and the fabricated bracket, so it's not squeezing the sheet metal, but I'm done for now

single finger shiftan

http://184.72.239.143/mu/a6cd09ec-f3e2-51ed.jpg
all posts, pictures and video uploaded from my iPhone and the tapatalk app

shadybx7

04-03-11, 06:29 PM

interesting solution... congrats on the fix.. lol couldn't get the knob to release? how did you re-attch the shifter shaft to the ball joint

D3l7a3ch0

04-03-11, 06:32 PM

The ball joint and shifter shaft stay together. The shifter and the knob separate from the shaft as a unit

I'd still like the motor mounts and trans bushings everyone loves. Sadly, this V is changing hands in May. My buddy taking the car thought this shifter mod was great news.

PISNUOFF

04-03-11, 08:01 PM

You would have been better off removing the shifter completely and leaving the rubber in place, just grind it down so it inserts further into the cone, cut some off the bottom of the cone then melting the rubber back to the cone. Looks like you need to cut down the top of the lower shaft because it's hitting the inside of the cone and not allowing it to go down far enough.

Most of your 'slop' in the shifter is due to the lower portion. PM me and I can hook you up with some new parts that really tighten things up, shorten the throw and fix your issue with getting into reverse.

D3l7a3ch0

04-03-11, 08:25 PM

hey PISNUOFF thanks for stopping by~! I might take you up on your offer. if I don't, it's because I only have a month
left with the V...

the lower end, what is it that is so sloppy, exactly? is it the ball joint?

I was considering cutting some off the top, too. as it is, thebottom of the knob is right up against the edge
of the pleather boot trim, so I don't know if I want to go any lower...

I think i'll put a rubber something at the top of the lower shaft to cut down on chatter, and tighten the fit
of the lower rubber, then glue it all down.

thanks again for stopping in

D3l7a3ch0

04-04-11, 12:19 AM

so i've been home for an hour and I'm looking at what the aftermarket shift linkages ARE, and
my LEGO-trained brain is coming up with some off-the-shelf parts that I'm thinking I could use
to approximate what the aftermarket shift levers do... and not only that, it would be adjustable
for throw and height. and cost a lot less than $300

I'm going to get the parts together this week, and come saturday i'm drilling out the silver rivets
and seeing what I can do to fabricate my own shift assembly.

//I've been up, researching parts... I should sleep. this is going to blow some minds and break some hearts

PISNUOFF

04-04-11, 10:34 AM

I replied to your PM, let me know if either of those options is to your liking.

hey PISNUOFF thanks for stopping by~! I might take you up on your offer. if I don't, it's because I only have a month
left with the V...

the lower end, what is it that is so sloppy, exactly? is it the ball joint?

I was considering cutting some off the top, too. as it is, thebottom of the knob is right up against the edge
of the pleather boot trim, so I don't know if I want to go any lower...

I think i'll put a rubber something at the top of the lower shaft to cut down on chatter, and tighten the fit
of the lower rubber, then glue it all down.

thanks again for stopping in

The nylon bushings in the base of the shifter wear out and are generally loose to begin with. This causes almost all of the slop. I have designed tighter fitting ones made out of Delrin along with a tighter fitting 'pivot tube' that goes into those bushings.

so i've been home for an hour and I'm looking at what the aftermarket shift linkages ARE, and
my LEGO-trained brain is coming up with some off-the-shelf parts that I'm thinking I could use
to approximate what the aftermarket shift levers do... and not only that, it would be adjustable
for throw and height. and cost a lot less than $300

I'm going to get the parts together this week, and come saturday i'm drilling out the silver rivets
and seeing what I can do to fabricate my own shift assembly.

//I've been up, researching parts... I should sleep. this is going to blow some minds and break some hearts

I designed a SS insert that gets pressed in between the nylon pivot ball and the rectangular base of the shifter. This reduces the throw significantly.

From your video above, it sounds like there is some 'clicking' going on inside the top portion of your shifter where you removed the rubber. I'd cut down the inner shaft and try to reattach the two halves with something like JB Weld. I'd recommend cutting some grooves into the lower shaft so the JB has something to adhere to.

Here is a vid of my shifter at work. You can see how short the throws are compared to your stock length throw and you can also see how much less mine has to be pushed sideways to get towards first gear, it's nowhere near hitting the edge of the bezel (reverse is the same distance over on the other side).